An antitrust law has been proposed in Australia that is forcing tech firms to pay for news that appears on their social media platforms. Google has raised its voice against the law, saying that the law would adversely affect content creators and channel operators.
According to Google, the law would assist big media firms inflate their search ranking artificially, hence receiving an unfair advantage over individuals who are running their own websites or YouTube channels. Google's YouTube video service helps individuals and companies run their channels that feature advertisements, and as a result, generate revenue for both themselves and YouTube.
Google's Australia Managing Director, Mel Silva, wrote in a post that the law wouldn't just impact Google and YouTube's functionality in the media business, but would impact all the Australian users.
Meanwhile, the antitrust law is proposed to be enforced in Australia this year and will require big tech companies like Google and Facebook to pay media companies for the news content across their platforms.
According to government estimates, in the internet age, the share of media companies in advertising revenue has significantly dropped down as one third of the revenue, excluding classifieds, goes to Facebook and Google.
